


Meido

by xT_Zealot



Category: RWBY
Genre: Cosplay, Fiendish Blake, Innocent Ruby, Sick Weiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2139510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xT_Zealot/pseuds/xT_Zealot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At this point, Weiss wasn't sure what was going to kill her first: her fever or this potentially lethal dose of cuteness that was her team leader.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meido Ruby

**Author's Note:**

> What do you get with too many work hours, too little sleep, too much caffeine, and a couple newly-released anime (Fate/Kaleid and Servant x Service)? An idea that leads me back to the fanfictioning world in time for RWBY.
> 
> My first of what would be many RWBY fics, written shortly after Badge and the Burden.

Friday tends to hold a special place in the hearts of the people. The final hurdle, the last obstacle, the fifth of the total five gates that keep the individual contained within the weekdays while the sweet solace of a two-day weekend lies just beyond.

Sure, in the end there is to be only another week for said individual to suffer through but that's a concern that does not exist for the here and now; that is for Sunday.

Of course, in order to achieve that small – and brief - reprieve, one must get through Friday. And as leader of Team RWBY, it was the job of Ruby Rose to make sure that her teammates would not allow their resolve to be so easily weakened with the promise of the coming Saturday. She must be vigilant to be sure to spot any weakness in the chain that held the team together. As like any other team, Team RWBY was only as strong as its weakest link.

And right now Ruby was looking at it.

It had been like any other morning. At the crack of dawn which was accompanied by the sound of the alarm, the team was roused from their slumber so that they may start the day. Sleepwear was traded in for school uniforms, bags were packed with textbooks and assigned homework that had been completed the night before, and morning rituals for cleanliness were conducted which left only breakfast to be consumed before they would all be ushered into the classroom to begin their daily studies.

With a flashy twirl, Ruby's signature red cloak fell over her shoulders and down her back as she clasped it in place, acting as the finishing touch to the brown, white, and red of her school uniform. A glance around the dorm room revealed that the others were finishing dressing as well with Yang running a hand through her long, golden locks to smooth them out while Blake straightened her headband and bow. As for Weiss…

…She was still in bed, the heiress having yet to even leave it and it didn't look like she planned to get up anytime soon as Weiss had her pillow firmly planted over her head, her body curled into a ball beneath the covers.

This could not be allowed and Ruby had the perfect tool to enforce her ruling. Though she had been lenient ever since their first day, the silver whistle she now plucked from her person still needed to be used now and again. Apparently its shrill cry was to be sounded today.

As she leaned over Weiss's bed, the whistle coming to her lips, Ruby took note out of the corner of her eye of how Yang was openly grinning at what was to come while Blake turned away, focusing on getting one of her novels to fit into her bag to take with her for personal reading material. Encouraged by the display, Ruby took a deep breath and blew hard, the whistle letting out a screech-

Which was then silenced a second later when its owner took a slap across the face from a pillow.

Half of the reason Ruby found herself dropping to the floor was due to surprise. The other half was the fact that the blow actually _hurt_ , the pillow having been delivered with enough force that she actually felt pain despite being hit by cloth and feathers. The whistle flying from her lips, Ruby sat there, her sense of mischief being replaced by fear as she beheld Weiss Schnee.

A very angry Weiss Schnee. Her soft weapon held in a vice-like grip, the teen's pale face was red with anger, her limbs shaking with the emotion, her breathing heavy, and ice blue eyes narrowed dangerously at her team leader. Her long white hair, currently free form its usual ponytail, was slightly frazzled which only contributed to her frightening appearance. The fact that she was still dressed in her night gown did nothing to contract from it.

"You _idiot_!" Weiss snapped and Ruby was actually taken aback by the heat in her words. "Do you have any idea how absolutely _aggravating_ that is? Is it so hard to get just a little bit of sleep without you…you…"

Having been in the midst of cowering, Ruby suddenly noticed something. The red face, shaking limbs, heavy breathing; all of that could be easily attributes to anger. However, before Ruby's silver eyes, she saw her partner waver, her gaze becoming unfocused, and just when Ruby took note of the sheen of sweat on her face, Weiss dropped back onto her bed.

"Weiss!" Leaping to her feet, Ruby was at Weiss's bedside in a second.

Having been the model of intimidation just a moment ago, the heiress now looked positively weak. The shaking limbs and heavy breathing that Ruby had mistaken for anger was actually a struggle against the weakness that plagued Weiss and the red face, as Yang would come over and take note, was due to fever.

"Woah!" Placing her hand on Weiss's forehead, the blonde immediately pulled it back a second later. "You're burning up there, princess."

"She certainly looks ill," Blake added, leaning over from the other side of the bed to examine the panting and flushed Weiss.

"I don't get sick," Weiss breathed out though how weak her voice sounded said otherwise. "I'm fine. Just give me…a few minutes…" The rest of her words trailed off into a whimper as she curled back into a ball, burying her head into her pillow.

"Well she has me convinced," Yang spoke sarcastically.

"Weiss…" Reaching out with one hand, Ruby gently slid her fingers along her friend's snow-white hair in an attempt to give some form of comfort. "You look really sick. I think you should stay in bed today."

"I'll go inform a nurse just in case," Yang volunteered and stepped away from the bed.

"But my classes," came Weiss's voice, muffled by the pillow but just barely understandable. If she was about to say more, she was interrupted by a sudden cough that initiated a small fit as her body shook with the motions.

"We share most of them," Blake cut in. "I can always collect notes and homework assignments from the professors. It's Friday so you can just take the day off, rest, and catch up on the work during the weekend once you get better." She gently rubbed Weiss's back, patiently waiting for her cough to settle. Eventually it did and the shaking seemed to lessen as well. Enough so that it was clear that the sick girl took some comfort from Blake's touch.

It was probably a mix of how increasingly clear it was that she was sick and Blake's own logic that seemed to convince Weiss. Silenced from making any further argument, she blindly reached for the covers which had been tossed aside during her counter attack. Ruby quickly realized what her friend wanted and brought the covers back up to tuck her in.

Weiss didn't even mutter a thank you. Instead, she silently buried herself within the soft comfort of the mattress and blankets, another cough issuing from her throat.

To Ruby, it was a heart-breaking sight to see. The usually strong and composed Weiss was reduced to a shaking, whimpering ball that tossed and turned in her bed in an attempt to get comfortable. This hardly seemed to be the same girl that had once stood so confidently against the Grimm. Whether it had been the pack of Beowolves that ganged up on her in the Emerald Forest or the lone Boarbatusk that had come charging at her in Professor Port's classroom, Weiss would stand poised with her reliable Myrtenaster in hand, ready to dish out pinpoint accurate stabs or strokes that went hand-in-hand with her ridiculous speed for devastating results.

That was the best way to describe Weiss Schnee: elegant but lethal.

There was none of that here.

"Weiss." The seconds had ticked away into minutes when she finally spoke, having spent the whole time staring sorrowfully at her partner. She could hear the sound of footsteps approaching from outside their dorm room and Yang's muffled voice as her sister returned with a nurse in tow. "Is there anything I can do?"

A long pause stretched between them, enough time for Yang to reach their dorm room and open the door. At the end, Weiss shifted once more, the blanket sliding down to expose one blue eye that, while displaying weakness and pain, also held a sudden coldness that sent a shiver down Ruby's spine.

"Yes," Weiss replied, her voice matching the temperature. "Stay away and let me sleep."

* * *

With a miserable groan, Ruby's forehead connected solidly into the surface of the table with an audible _thud_. Fortunately she managed to avoid crushing the small, green basket of strawberries she had picked out for herself which would've created a sticky, juicy mess in her red and black hair.

Not that that could've possibly made her feel any worse than how she was now. Her voice slightly muffled, Ruby miserably proclaimed, "She hates me. Again."

It seemed to be a constant thing between her and Weiss; a see-sawing relationship of respect and hate that had started ever since their first meeting. Nearly blasting the two of them into a crater had begun their relationship with hatred. This was then countered by their forced team-up during their initiation and a demonstration of their individual skills that blossomed into a degree of respect for one another. That, unfortunately, didn't last long with Ruby's promotion as team leader that caused Weiss to become bitter…and said bitterness was resolved by the next day.

Ruby hoped that had been the end of it but then she had to go and blow that whistle…

As if reading her thoughts and attempting to mock her, Blake decided to verbally repeat, "Well you did blow that whistle right in her ear when she had a fever." The amber-eyed member of Team RWBY was currently sitting next to her team leader and doing what she always did: reading with her face completely hidden behind a hardcover book.

"I didn't know that she was sick!" With a groan, Ruby lifted her head up enough from the table so that she was resting her chin upon the wooden surface instead of her forehead. Sighting her comfort food, Ruby plucked a strawberry from the basket. The stems had been precut so there was no need to pull anything off before she was allowed to eat one. Chewing slowly, Ruby added, "I thought she just didn't want to wake up."

"To be fair, I don't think you'd want to wake up with a whistle in your ear sick or not," Pyrrha interjected. Considering she was sitting across from Ruby – thus putting the basket of strawberries between them – it was only after Ruby had eaten her third did the red-haired amazon give the younger girl a silent, questioning look. It was only after Ruby nodded her head in affirmative did she take one of her own. "Thanks. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself though as I'm sure things will be back to normal once she's better."

The three girls were currently seated within Team JNPR's dorm room which had quickly become one of the main hangouts for the three healthy members of Team RWBY. The nurse that Yang retrieved had confirmed what they all knew: Weiss was sick. Nothing life-threatening which came as a relief – just a simple flu – but the room had been effectively quarantined with Yang, Blake, and Ruby rarely venturing in unless they needed textbooks or some other supplies. This was partly because neither of them wanted to be infected…but it was mostly due to the fact that Weiss had strongly implied that she wanted none of them around her. For obvious reasons, that had done nothing to improve Ruby's mood as she tended to just sit and sulk despite being in the company of friends.

The fact that it was now Saturday and Weiss was still constrained to bed just made it all worse.

The only one who seemed happy about the occasion was Nora who had let out a happy squeal at the idea of a huge slumber party. And taking a page from Team RWBY, she used the opportunity to pile JNPR's beds into bunk beds to make room for their guests, the results of which had been…better. Well, once Jaune and Pyrrha managed to stop the overeager girl from attempting to establish what she declared would be quad beds for even more room. When she had been enlightened to the fact that the room's ceiling was too low for such a construction, Nora's usual cheery smile had taken a subtle transformation.

Even as she replayed the moment in her head, Ruby couldn't believe how such a smile could turn so malicious with just a fraction of movement from her lips. The appearance of Magnhild didn't help at all, the revolver-like cylinder of the grenade launcher spinning before an audible _click_ signaled a loaded grenade. The sound had been deafening due to the dorm room having gone silent as the gathered trainees realized just what, exactly, Nora was planning. It was fortunate that Ren arrived so timely from his movie run to calm her down.

As fun as the actual night was, the three sleeping bags that were rolled up in the corner of the room only reminded Ruby of Weiss's predicament.

"You'd think that Huntresses couldn't even get sick," Ruby complained. "I thought once we honed our control over our Aura, we'd be protected against something like a flu!" She looked across the table to their Aura expert who was chewing on her strawberry thoughtfully.

"It can," Pyrrha confirmed and swallowed the juicy treat. "Aura is an energy source for us Huntsmen and Huntresses; it can be manipulated to perform a variety of uses. The most common of which are enhancing our attacks and defenses that can range from boosting our attributes and projecting an actual shield to charging our weapons or even random objects with that energy to allow us to use them for more devastating attacks."

Ruby nodded. This was simple, basic stuff that was taught to her even as far back as her time at Signal Academy. During her time at Beacon, the fifteen-year-old had been able to see extraordinary examples of how the various students have come to use their Aura. Lie Ren was a good one, able to project his Aura through his bare hands to perform attacks that would be devastating even to Grimm.

"And you can use it to heal yourself," Pyrrha continued. "In extension, protect yourself from sickness. I suppose if your Aura is strong enough you could even combat poisons. Now the problem is that, like any other energy source, your Aura can run low after too much use. And it's these moments of weakness that you can become vulnerable." She helped herself to a second strawberry. "Let's not forget, this _is_ Beacon."

Ruby sighed, agreeing with Pyrrha's diagnosis. This certainly was Beacon: the most renowned combat school with a goal to forge gifted students into powerful warriors to ensure the survival of humanity. Such warriors needed to be pushed to their limits to see how far they could go before they would learn to eventually exceed them. Duels and class field trips - aka incursions into Grimm-populated zones like the Emerald Forest - could certainly exhaust the trainee physically but even something like their studies and exams could put mental stress upon them to further decrease their Aura levels.

 _And there's Weiss Schnee,_ Ruby thought. _Destined to inherit one of the largest exporters and producers of Dust but is nonetheless training to become a powerful Huntress on the side. She gets good grades, is an accomplished fencer, expert in the usage of Dust, and is even a great singer!_

Thinking about it, it only now dawned on Ruby that as amazing as it was that Weiss could do all that, it also sounded pretty exhausting. _Small wonder she got sick._ This only made her more depressed about her friend's state.

 _Actually..._ Struck with a sudden thought, Ruby turned her head to Blake which, really, was her laying her cheek against the table so that she could look at her quiet teammate. It seemed that the heavy weight of guilt was keeping her sufficiently pinned to the table. "Hey Blake, have you been checking up on Weiss?"

At first the only movement Ruby could see was the slight shaking of the black bow that adorned Blake's head in negative before she elaborated, "Last I saw her was when I was getting a change of clothes and dropping off my schoolwork in the room."

"Yeah same here." Ruby suspected something similar from Yang, especially as her sister held certain, strong feelings at the idea of being sick which clashed harshly with her ever-active self and strong fighting spirit. If one wanted to drive Yang Xiao Long insane, they only had to tie her to a chair and lock her in a room for an extended amount of time. Reviewing their childhood, Ruby took note of the few times that she had gotten sick as a little girl, Yang had been strangely absent.

"Besides, can you even imagine how horrible I'd look?" Yang had asked when they had been on the subject before, one hand instinctively caressing her golden locks. Yep, typical Yang.

Pyrrha looked from one girl to the other and seemed to come to the same conclusion as Ruby. "So no one has been looking after her?"

"Well I'm sure the nurse has." Ruby rolled her head back onto its chin to meet Pyrrha's inquisitive green eyes. "She did come in this morning to report that Weiss was still ill even if she improved somewhat. " At the look that Pyrrha gave her next, Ruby hastily defended, "She said she wanted me to stay away from her!"

"But she's part of your team." Pyrrha had narrowed her eyes in clear disagreement, forcing Ruby to squirm beneath her gaze. " _You're_ her partner _and_ team leader. You have a responsibility to her, especially if she falls ill. How can any team trust a leader who isn't willing to look after their well-being? You have to earn your position."

Ruby grimaced at the lecture, especially as she found this to be painfully familiar. Pyrrha didn't possess nearly as much of the anger and patronizing tone that Weiss had unleashed upon her on that day outside Professor Port's classroom but the words and the meaning behind them were very similar.

 _"That's just it!" Weiss snapped, thrusting a finger towards Ruby who shrunk back from it. "You've done_ nothing _to earn your position!"_

When Weiss had spoken those words, Ruby remembered that they had hurt. But it was those words – and the kinder, gentler ones from Professor Ozpin – that had gotten her to understand what her position demanded from her and got her to work on meeting it as she threw herself at her studies. At the same time,Weiss had had a change of heart, the heiress having said that she believed that Ruby could be a good leader and that she would focus on becoming the best teammate she could be.

 _And I'm just sitting here enjoying strawberries while she suffers. Alone. Just right across the hall too._ Another _thunk_ as Ruby planted her scalp back into the table. "Some team leader I am."

She felt a gentle pat on her lowered head as Pyrrha did her best to offer some support. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually. This is our first year after all and when you consider you've been given such a responsibility after being sent here two years ahead, I think you're doing rather well."

"Thanks, Pyrrha." Letting out a long breath, Ruby finally relented. "I suppose I should at least check up on her. I mean this is Weiss Schnee we're talking about; she probably had a dozen or so maids and butlers at her beck and call if she needed anything."

Pyrrha offered a small, humored grin at that. "Probably. She couldn't exactly bring them with her though."

"And I'm certainly no maid." Regaining some of the strength that had been strangely absent during the entire discussion, Ruby finally lifted her head from the table and straightened in her seat, rolling her shoulders as if preparing for an assigned duel. "I'll see what I can do then. I can probably get some soup made up by the kitchen staff or make it myself if needed."

Unnoticed by the two girls, a strange reaction had just taken over their quiet – and possibly forgotten – friend. If either Pyrrha or Ruby had been paying attention, they would see that the tips of the ever-present black bow were stretching high over the novel that Blake held, akin to a cat's ears that would suddenly spring to attention. The novel, which had held Blake's attention 'till now, was lowered enough so that two amber eyes could be seen focusing on Ruby.

The red-cloaked girl was completely unaware of the attention she had inadvertently drawn to herself. Not until she tried to stand up and walk away for when she tried to do so she was suddenly jerked back due to a sudden grip on her wrist, forcing her to let out an "Eep!" as she was pulled. The small cry was due to a mix of surprise and how near-painfully tight that grip was. Suffice to say, Blake had Ruby's attention and the younger girl turned to see what she wanted.

 _Uh…_ Ruby immediately found herself wanting to inch away from her teammate, her instincts tingling with alarm, but for obvious reasons she couldn't.

For when she turned to Blake, she found the other girl staring at her. That shouldn't have come as a surprise but what caused this growing sense of nervousness she felt was a glint that she noted in Blake's amber eyes which seemed to be thoroughly appraising her. Though Blake's face remained mostly neutral, for just a fraction of a second Ruby thought she saw the corners of her lips twitch upwards in a smile.

A smile which, for some odd reason, made Ruby think of a stray cat that had frequented her neighborhood back in Vale where she had been growing up. A cat that she had always thought was cute until that one day coming home from school she had witnessed it corner a mouse and bat at it like a toy, a smile just like Blake had on its face before it had decided to give its game a grisly end.

Ruby currently felt like that cornered mouse.

Pyrrha was just looking between the two of them, confused and unable to help her.

"You want to help Weiss?" Blake asked after a moment of silence. Her face remained neutral but those eyes were bright with badly-hidden mischief. "I got an idea that'll help your chances of getting her to forgive you."

"O-oh yeah?" Ruby squeaked nervously.

"Oh yeah."

* * *

Although her coughing had lessened after a day, Weiss Schnee was still truly and utterly miserable. The headache which had sent her head swimming when she retaliated to Ruby's childish antics was still there and her body continued to just ache while fatigue plagued her. Ever since the onset of her sickness, the young Huntress-in-training had hardly gotten out of bed and she certainly didn't want to now.

The only time she moved was to wet her parched throat. The nurse had brought not only a box of tissues but a glass and pitcher of water which now stood upon a small table that had been unfolded next to her bed. Every now and then she would pour herself a glass which she would immediately down, finding some relief when the clear liquid soothed her throat. Once she got her drink, she would place the glass back on the table, curl up, and continue to be miserable.

There was a mirror nearby but Weiss didn't need it to know that she probably looked as bad as she felt: frazzled white hair, sunken, bloodshot eyes, flushed face. It was a stark contrast to the usual prim and proper heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.

Not that she cared: there was no one around to witness her in this pathetic state. _That_ thought brought on another ache…but this one being slightly different than the ones that affected her limbs. More painful too.

Quite frankly, she was surprised by it. When she first came to Beacon, she had done so with one thing in her mind: perfection. The choice to train to become a Huntress was strictly her own but it still fell into the Schnee doctrine that if you were going to do it, you were going to do it perfectly. Her physical training, her Dust control, her studies; not for an instant would she allow herself to slack in either of the needed categories to become the perfect Huntress.

This included her team. To supplement her own impressive skills, Weiss had already screened for the perfect candidates that would become members of _her_ team before she had even arrived to Beacon. Pyrrha Nikos was her top choice of course with Lie Ren being a close second. It had been a bit of a toss-up with the fourth member – though, as annoying as she was, Weiss probably would've been fine with Nora - but she had assured herself that as long as she had those two, she would have an impressive line-up to rival anything that Beacon had ever formed before. Under her leadership, it would be perfect. That's how she saw them: the tools needed to reach perfection. She hadn't been looking for friends.

She didn't get her team though. Jaune Arc got her team which left her with…Team RWBY.

 _A childish, red-cloaked dolt,_ Weiss thought miserably, sniffling all the while, _with her brute of a sister and a disrespectful nobody._

That was her team. It was far from her perfect line-up as could be and, as if to mock her, it was named after the leader that wasn't Weiss Schnee. In fact, it was a perfect disaster.

Despite the fatigue, Weiss found it difficult to just lay there and sleep with these thoughts of plans that had gone so horribly wrong. Staring at the still half-full pitcher, Weiss watched one of the wet drops of condensation slide down the container and drip onto the small table. Her ice blue eyes were narrowed and particularly frosty as she thought of what could've been but wasn't. Slowly, however, the look softened, her eyes became downcast, and her head nuzzled into her pillow.

_…I wonder where they are. If they're even thinking about me…worried about how I'm doing…_

She had hardly done anything else other than sleep yesterday once the nurse had advised her to do just that. When she was conscious, she desperately wished that she wasn't with how terrible she felt. In those few moments of wakefulness, she had rarely seen her teammates. She thought she remembered seeing Blake as well as the brief appearance of a red cloak but, other than that, nothing else came to mind.

Well, except that one moment when she woke up late last night. She had expected to see her team sleeping in their beds but when she looked to the bed across from hers – Blake's – she saw no sign. Confused, she forced herself out of bed, keeping the blanket wrapped tight around her as she looked to the top bunks. Ruby and Yang's were similarly deserted.

That was when she heard them. Standing in the middle of the dark dorm room – alone, confused, trying to suppress the chills from the cold night air as she clung tightly to her blanket -, Weiss slowly cocked her head to the door. With the silence of the dorm, Weiss was able to barely pick up the voices which she deduced was coming from across the hall from Team JNPR's dorm. At first she thought it was solely JNPR but then she heard Yang's loud boasting of some random thing followed by Ruby's giggling.

The ache had started then, like a deep puncture aimed at her chest. Her shoulders taking on a visible slump, Weiss had silently crawled back into bed to go back to sleep. Alone.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that they had gone to JNPR's dorm so that they would lessen the chance of catching what she had. She also did say that she wanted them to stay away and let her sleep. They certainly weren't doing it to hurt her.

And yet…

Beneath the covers, Weiss pressed her hands against her chest as if that would dampen the pain that radiated from within. Even with her fever, the weakness in her limbs, her stuffed nose, the headache, this discomfort became most prevalent in her mind. Why did it hurt so much there? Really, her current situation was nothing new as, at home, her parents had hardly been around when she had been ill as a child. That's what servants were for after all.

It was becoming too troublesome to think about. Banishing anymore of these pesky thoughts from her mind, Weiss pulled her blanket over her head before burying her face in her pillow as if to force herself to sleep right then and there. It didn't come right away like she hoped but, soon, she drifted back to sleep.

She awoke sometime later to outside stimuli. When she opened her eyes, Weiss only saw the white interior of the blanket that she had thrown over herself. Her stuffed nose made it difficult to detect but a pleasant aroma nudged at her sense of smell as well as her hunger she soon realized when her stomach let out a cry of distress, having barely been fed anything since yesterday; Weiss having been too ill to even think about food until now.

There was movement that her ears could detect, hinting to someone else being in the room. As if she needed another clue, Weiss heard humming. Assuming that it was just the nurse, the heiress tugged the blanket down just enough so that she could see.

The assumption was a mistake and Weiss felt a strange mix of dread and jubilation at who she realized was in the room. Jubilation because, other than the nurse, who else could be in the room that wasn't one of her teammates?

The dread was due to the fact that there was only one person who wore that long, red cloak that she spied. The proclaimed hazard to her health which had been put into effect when Weiss had been awakened to the shrill cry of the whistle that had caused her head to nearly split open with the pain it caused. The heiress was still obviously sour about that.

The annoyance she directed at her team leader softened somewhat when she spotted the source of the smell. Ruby was currently standing over one of the desks that had come with the dorm room where, on its wooden surface, a steaming bowl of what Weiss assumed was soup was resting. Ruby herself had a spoon in hand which she dipped into the bowl and, after blowing on it, took a test sip.

"Still a bit hot," Weiss could barely hear her whisper.

The painful ache that Weiss's heart had been afflicted with relaxed before there came an odd warmth that was so unlike the uncomfortable heat of her fever. It was pleasant and managed to lift her depression as she realized what she was seeing.

 _Did she get that for me?_ Despite the one sip, Ruby wasn't eating anymore, the soup momentarily forgotten as she busied herself with whatever else she brought. And who else would the soup be for considering it was one of the most obvious things to give to a sick person?

Although it became increasingly clear that Ruby's reason for coming here was due to her sickness, Weiss debated on revealing that she was awake. As kind-hearted as she admitted her team leader was she could tend to be…well…a dunce. Ruby may be looking to help but with their history together when it came to her 'helping' – rushing into her line of fire, riding a Nevermore, going solo against a Death Stalker, that dreaded whistle -, Weiss could only wonder when she would slip up and become another hindrance to her recovery that she really didn't need right now.

With that mountain of evidence in mind, Weiss prepared to pull the blanket back over her head to pretend that she was still sleeping and hope that Ruby would just go awa-

 _Wait._ She stopped and squinted at her team leader, finding something off. Because of her cloak and Weiss's own weakened condition, the heiress hadn't noticed the white cloth – really a frilly band - that was on her partner's head despite how it so badly clashed with her usual red and black attire.

Except she wasn't wearing her usual clothing, Weiss realized. She only came to that conclusion when she noted discrepancies in Ruby's usual attire that wasn't hidden by her red cloak, specifically her sleeves. Usually the sleeves of her blouse were long and black, the edges colored red. While the sleeves were in fact black, there were white cuffs wrapped around her wrists, not the usual red edges. And peeking out at the bottom of her red cloak, Weiss can see that Ruby's skirt had somehow gotten longer, the edges dropping nearly to her ankles. She could also see another hint of the white, frilly material.

Caught up in her investigation, Weiss didn't notice that she had slowly straightened and sat up in her bed, intent on uncovering more clues to her partner's strange attire. Ruby must've heard the shifting of sheets because she turned around to face her.

"Weiss, you're awake!" Producing a smile that was genuinely pleased, Ruby started coming to her. "How are you feeling? The nurse said you were-oh-aaaaah-woah!" Apparently being tripped up by her long skirt, Ruby had pinwheeled her arms comically in an attempt to steady herself and stop from falling.

Her collision with the floor was testament to her failure. With a groan, Ruby laid there on her belly for a moment before she pushed herself up, sitting on her knees as she checked her outfit to make sure nothing had been ruined.

Weiss just stared with wide eyes, her jaw dropping as she beheld the leader of Team RWBY.

The white band in Ruby's hair had been the first thing she noticed along with the white cuffs around her wrists. But that black skirt, she discovered, was actually part of a long, one-piece dress that was topped with a white collar at the pale girl's throat. And the frills? That was due to the white, frilly apron that was worn over the black dress with the ends draped over Ruby's shoulders and around her waist where they were all tied together at her back. The only oddity was the red bow that had been clasped at the collar which had probably been added to match with the red streaks of Ruby's hair.

It was a maid outfit. Ruby Rose was wearing a maid outfit. The conclusion ran through Weiss's mind half a dozen times but it took half a dozen more attempts before it actually stuck.

By then her partner had realized that Weiss was staring at her. The embarrassment of her fall and now Weiss's intense stare and her slack-jawed expression caused a shade of pink to color Ruby's usually pale cheeks and her silver eyes looked away, embarrassed and unable to keep eye contact.

Weiss felt her heart skip a beat. She tried to form a response, a question, _anything_ to break this uncomfortable silence that had taken over. She couldn't. All she could do was stare at this maid Ruby with only one word that, while suitable, was something she hardly expected to describe her partner with such sincerity

_Cute._


	2. Cuteness Overload

_Cute indeed._

Armed with a pair of binoculars and seated on the roof of another part of the campus building that gave her a direct line of sight to the Beacon dorms – and, specifically, Team RWBY's designated room – Blake watched her plan unfold. With the help of the binoculars and her own sharp eyesight, she could see the very still Weiss while Ruby practically prostrated herself at the foot of the heiress's bed.

As always there was a novel currently open and resting on her folded knees. The golden, twisted lettering on the solid cover identified the novel with the odd title _Meido Switch_. From time-to-time, the bow-wearing girl looked away from the binoculars and down at the open pages, seeming pleased with herself as she skimmed through the words.

It was inevitable, Blake decided, that things would come to this. After all, there were few things that a reader could ask from the written word that they loved so much. Imagination was an infinite tool yet there came the irony that such boundless wonders that could be conjured by the human mind were also trapped within it. This would lead to the maddening result of, for one who had been left with nothing but the word of fantasy and her own thoughts for comfort, one who was unable to express what she received as comfort into the physical world.

Blake was of course talking about herself. A life of prejudice that she and others had responded to with violence, the only hope she could find was in a place cut off from the real world because, as she told Ruby upon their first meeting, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. It was why she had derived so much relief away from it by becoming lost in the pages of her books, creating a shell of paper and ink that allowed her to find solace away from the harsh realities of the real world.

_"Well that's why we're here," the young girl replied, a small smile on her face, "to make it better."_

The sheer innocence of the statement had momentarily stunned Blake. That was probably when her shell had cracked; when she had allowed herself to be pulled back to the real world upon finding a light that had drawn her out from her own made-up reality. The light led her to Team RWBY.

But she had brought something else with her. It was something from her fairy tale world that had turned Blake into a cosplaying fiend.

_"A-are you sure about this?" Ruby spoke nervously as she beheld the outfit. Currently hanging from a hanger, the young girl was holding it in front of her, examining it with a doubtful and incredulous look._

_"Mhm!" Blake confirmed, nodding her head in confirmation. Guiding Ruby's hand, Blake moved the outfit closer so that her leader was holding it right to her body. After placing the white frilly headband on her head, Blake finally took a step back and held a hand to her chin, examining her work._

_It was perfect and Blake had to pat herself on the back for her own good work. It was only when Ruby would finally put on the outfit that she would know for sure but this preview promised to meet all her expectations and more. It looked as if her measurements had been more or less precise and the bow – while not a standard accessory – had been a wise choice as it matched well with the red that was mixed in Ruby's black hair._

_"What do you think, Pyrrha?" Seeking a second opinion, Blake had looked to the redhead who had only been able to drift into silence and watch, amazed, when Blake had conjured up the outfit and this small fashion show began._

_"It's…cute?"_

_Ruby looked as if she had just been betrayed._

_Seeing it, Pyrrha silently mouthed, "I'm sorry."_

_"I agree. Weiss can't possibly resist this."_

_"And this is supposed to help because…?" Ruby asked, still looking doubtful at the idea of how such an outfit of black and white would bring her relationship with Weiss back on friendlier terms._

_Blake tutted at Ruby but replied, "It's alright, I understand. You're still young and have trouble understanding not only how this can help Weiss but also better develop your position as a leader."_

_"…Huh?" Ruby looked down at the outfit, then at Blake, then back again as if hoping to find the logic that was absolutely lost on her._

_Placing her hands behind her back, Blake slowly paced in front of Ruby, talking all the while. "There is more to being a leader then actually leading. As Pyrrha said, a leader must be willing to take care of their teammates. But one must go even further. At times, the leader must be willing to bend themselves to the will of the team. To become a servant, in a way, to their demands so that they may truly understand that their leader does not think that they are above the concerns or even the needs of those who follow them."_

_With a_ clack _of her low-heeled boots, Blake swung her body back around and gestured towards the maid outfit. "In this case, I believe the literal sense will be much more effective. Weiss has been bred with the comforting knowledge that there are those willing to serve her every need so you can only imagine how jarring it is for her to be suddenly stuck in a situation where she is not the one in a position of power. Now that she has been incapacitated with this flu, she finds herself to be truly helpless with no control over what is happening to her. By doing this for her, you are granting her an opportunity for relief; a way for her to regain some semblance of control to not only allow her to handle her sickness but also allow her to realize that you, her leader, are willing to submit to her needs even when she is at her most vulnerable. The outfit, while meant to be familiar and reassuring to her, is also a sign of your willingness to become – although temporarily – subservient to her. This will allow her to better rely on you as her leader."_

_"Uuuuuh…" Ruby stared, open-mouthed, before slowly turning her head to Pyrrha, desperately seeking rescue only to find that the amazon was just as stunned as she. That confirmed it: Pyrrha had deserted her._

_Then again, Ruby couldn't really fault Pyrrha for her silence in the face of this stimulated Blake. She was her team leader and even Ruby found this side of Blake to be completely new and unexpected. Despite the formation of their team and the raven-haired girl warming up to them to the point where she went along with some of their antics - namely the bunk beds -, she still tended to be the quiet one of their group, only speaking a couple words or, if pressed, a full sentence or two before she would then lapse back into silence. If Ruby hadn't just heard it, this lecture would've normally been considered as something that Blake was incapable of doing._

She seems awfully motivated, _Ruby thought to herself and felt a jolt run down her spine when those amber eyes once again focused so intently on her. Unable to meet them, Ruby brought her attention back to the maid outfit._ Maybe I should listen to her.

It took a bit more convincing but Ruby had finally relented on the condition that she would be allowed to continue wearing her cloak over it. Although Blake had disagreed with the idea and probably could've won the argument that would've ensued, she ended up conceding. She had achieved her main objective anyway.

She returned to her binoculars in time to see that Ruby had recovered from her fall and was now presenting the bowl of hot soup towards Weiss, speaking words that Blake couldn't make out; she knew how to read books, not lips. Still, she could make a guess at what was going on, especially when Ruby dipped the spoon into the bowl before extending the utensil towards Weiss.

Having apparently recovered as well, Weiss snapped at Ruby who shrank back at her harsh tone and took possession of the bowl herself.

Seeing the result, Blake couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. _Oh well, I suppose it would've been too much to ask._ She glanced down at her book. _Not like page sixty at all._

But just as she gave in to Ruby's request for her cloak, she was willing to take any inconsistences of her fantasy in stride. Right now she could just bask in the satisfaction that she was able to make it into reality.

Besides, it wasn't just here that she managed to achieve victory. As if right on cue, a figure down in the courtyard caught Blake's attention and with a little shift in position she focused her binoculars to the ground.

It had been easier with Yang as the blonde normally wore an eccentric style of dress to flaunt certain aspects of her voluptuous form. Unwilling to spend her entire morning stuck in JNPR's dorm, Yang had desired to go on one of her usual runs. Problem was that any change of clothes that she would need for such a sweaty exercise had been left in their dorm and Blake had quickly understood Yang's fear of catching the flu. It all proved to work to her advantage as Blake just happened to have a set of clothes in mind for her as well.

She had been slightly worried about the measurements of her partner's bust, especially as she obtained them and her other measurements with a bit of improvising. This hadn't been as much of a concern for the fifteen-year-old Ruby and her outfit for obvious reasons, but in order to assure proper fitting for the white, v-necked shirt, Blake had to take more direct action.

Besides, who would figure that Gambol Shroud, with some temporary markings, could be used as an effective tape measurer? Time it right during one of their duels and no one would be the wiser. Granted, her concentration on obtaining measurements rather than fighting had forced her to take a couple blows from Ember Celica but the injuries that resulted from taking one or two extra shells to the abdomen were temporary. Armed with the measurements of Yang's well-defined body and the countless possibilities on what to fit on it...it had definitely been worth it.

And as Blake could see through her magnified view, her hard-earned measurements had been accurate with the sweat that was collecting at her partner's chest offering a tantalizing view with the white fabric. Of course, the true key to this outfit were the black bloomers that ran high up and tight to Yang's thighs.

She could do more. She could _easily_ do more. At the moment, these were just demos to confirm her collected measurements. For the future…

There was another book beneath _Meido Switch_. It was a particular black book that had the letters of its title colored red and a pair of narrowed eyes in front of a red background drawn beneath that. As she took a peek at it, Blake attempted to create the first of many excuses she could form when she finally made her move to produce a kunoichi outfit for Yang.

Not for the first time did she thank whatever deity that watched over Remnants and its inhabitants for giving her such great friends. Gullible too but that was just one of the reasons why they were so great.

* * *

It took some time before Weiss could regain control of her mouth and form words. Well, a name really. "Ruby."

Hearing it, the younger girl looked towards her yet remained on her knees. "Yes?"

"Where did you get that outfit?"

"Oh…uh…" The shade of pink still present on her cheeks, Ruby tried to distract herself by letting her fingers toy with the frills of her apron. "Blake gave it to me."

Though her mouth was working again, Weiss found that her brain needed more time to process this current situation because all she could do was nod her head and respond with, "Ah, okay."

… …

 _Wait a minute!_ her brain interrupted. _That's not okay at all! When did Blake get a maid outfit? …_ Why _did she have a maid outfit? Why is Ruby wearing it? What, by all the elements of Dust, is going on here?_

There were too many questions and her flu-addled mind had a difficult time processing them so all Weiss could do was sit and stare as she tried to come to grips with this situation. This did nothing to help Ruby, giving her little to work with. At the very least, Weiss wasn't yelling at her so she couldn't say that this was starting off poorly. It even gave her some confidence to stand back up on her feet before returning to the table where she left the bowl of hot soup.

"I brought you some soup." Returning to Weiss, Ruby held out the bowl for the heiress only to be met with further silence. The blank, blue eyes made her wonder if Weiss was even paying attention. "Um, here?" She took the spoon, scooped up a bit of the soup, blew on it to help cool it, and held it to Weiss's lips.

That seemed to finally get a reaction from Weiss although it wasn't a good one. At first giving the spoon that same blank look, Weiss visibly jerked upon realizing what was happening, her face reddening before she harshly snapped with, "I can feed myself!"

Ruby winced at the harsh tone and how fiercely Weiss snatched both bowl and spoon from her hand, the latter of which the heiress stuck in her mouth to prove her declaration. "I see." Bowing her head, Ruby stepped away from the bed. "Uh…be careful; the soup's still a bit hot."

The critical look remained on Weiss's face as she tracked Ruby's retreat, the spoon still held in her mouth all the while. It was only when Ruby's back was turned to her did some of the hostile edge leave her face. Although the cloak once again hid most of the dress and apron that made up the maid outfit, the image was still stuck in the heiress's mind.

 _It seemed to have been made out of nice material,_ she mused. _Well-tailored too. Where did Blake-_

_No. No, no, no, no!_

Something was wrong here. Something was very, very wrong. Weiss wasn't sure what had occurred but it had to have been when she first got a real, good look at Ruby in her attire. When young Ruby had fallen, brought to her knees at Weiss's bed and giving the heiress a perfect show of the black dress swaddled in white frills, it was like a switch or something had suddenly clicked inside her, shutting down all thought and reason from her mind. Every minor grievance she had once held against Ruby, any resentment that she had felt against her leader's constant, childish antics, it all fled from her mind. The only thing that stayed was the realization that Ruby Rose was in a maid outfit.

Considering her upbringing, Weiss found this confusing. Maids were far from a rare occurrence within the Schnee family; they were everywhere along with their male counterparts. The first time she met Ruby she had been in the company of a pair of butlers who ferried her luggage into Beacon. All her life, when she wanted something, a servant was there to get it for her. When there was a task that needed to be done – laundry, dinner, cleaning – there was always a maid that was assigned to do the task so that she wouldn't have to lower herself to perform it. When she had been born, when she had been sick, when she had been tutored, there was always a servant involved to look after her.

So why did seeing her team leader in an outfit that she saw more than her own family have such an effect on her? It took her a moment but the answer soon came. As simple as it sounded, it was because it was Ruby Rose who was wearing a maid outfit. The same childish, dorky, clumsy, naïve, and overeager Ruby who had been giving her both hell and help ever since their team-up.

Weiss didn't know how long she had been sitting there, lost in thought, but she finally became aware that she still had a spoon jutting out of her mouth. Embarrassed and automatically blaming maid Ruby for this, Weiss pulled the utensil out of her mouth to scoop up more of the soup.

It was only when she had that spoonful in her mouth did Weiss realize that no matter how long she had been sitting in her bed looking like an idiot, it had apparently not been long enough for the soup cool.

 _Hot, hot, hot!_ Weiss mentally cried as the clearly hot soup splashed upon her tongue and cheeks. Her body reflexively jerked in pain, causing the bowl on her lap to tip and dump a portion of soup onto her blanket-covered knees. _That_ turned Weiss's reflexive jerk into a jump as she cried out, kicking blanket and bowl away from her and onto the floor.

With a small shower of rose petals left in her wake, Ruby was at Weiss's side in an instant.

"Ah!" In a panic, Ruby waved her arms frantically as she beheld the mess, trying to figure out what just happened. "Whatdidyoudowhatdidyoudowhatdidyoudo?"

Weiss couldn't respond, the heiress currently fanning her mouth with her hand. Fortunately Ruby seemed to understand as her head immediately whirled to the water that was at Weiss's side. Snatching the glass, Ruby filled it and handed it to Weiss who accepted it before quickly downing the water to cool her burning mouth.

"I told you it was still hot!" Ruby scolded, her hands firmly planted on her hips. "You were supposed to be careful!"

Weiss didn't respond right away and actually kept the glass to her lips longer than necessary to give her more time to form a proper retort. In the end she couldn't. With a small blush of embarrassment appearing on her cheeks, Weiss held the now empty glass to Ruby while quietly muttering, "Sorry."

Ruby sighed, taking the glass to put it back on the small table. "It can't be helped now. No use crying over spilled…" she paused, looking down at the mess before finishing with, "…soup."

At least the mess itself wasn't as bad as it could be. Despite how Weiss had knocked the bowl off her bed, the spilled contents hadn't reached the rug that dominated the center of the room. It would be an easy matter to just wipe the soup off the hardwood floor. The blanket, on the other hand, was a loss with it now being soaked and stained. It was definitely going to need to be washed.

Ruby knelt down to gather up the discarded blanket and bowl. "I'll wipe this down and drop the blanket off to get it cleaned." She looked up at Weiss to give her a reassuring smile. "They should have some spare blankets…" Her voice trailed off.

During the past forty-eight hours, Weiss had hardly gotten out of bed and when she did she had always kept her blanket with her. Now, exposed to the elements with nothing but her nightgown and still sick with her flu, Weiss felt chilled. In an attempt to make up for her lack of protection, the heiress brought her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapping around them to hug them tight to her body. That was not enough to stop her from shaking.

Clearly Weiss couldn't wait for a spare. Ruby looked around the dorm room in an attempt to find a proper substitute but failed. That was when she felt like a fool and, suppressing the urge to hit herself over the head, Ruby looked up.

Shaking in her little ball, Weiss watched wordlessly as Ruby climbed up to her bunk that hung precariously over the heiress. The bed shook with her struggles and even in her state Weiss felt nervous just like she always did when Ruby climbed up onto that death trap that was her bed. One day those ropes were going to snap. Even with the knowledge that one day she was certainly going to be crushed, for some reason Weiss had made few arguments about separating the beds or, at the very least, creating better supports. She should really start doing so even if she secretly liked the idea of bunk beds.

It only took a few seconds before Ruby dropped back down to the floor. "Here Weiss, take this."

At first Weiss was only able to stare, dumbfounded, despite how it was very clear that Ruby now presented another blanket; this one dry and clean. The heiress didn't know who to blame for her slow mental functions – her flu or the maid Ruby – but it took her much longer than it should've been necessary to understand where it came from.

"Isn't that yours?"

"It's not like I need it and I can't just take Yang's or Blake's so here." With Weiss having yet to take it, Ruby took matters into her own hands, leaning forward to wrap the blanket around her partner. "I'll get another one for myself so just use this for now. Now to clean this up."

Astonished, Weiss did little to stop Ruby. Instead, once she had the blanket wrapped around her, the heiress took hold of it to pull it closer to her. Along with the warmth, she took note of something else that was quite different from her own blanket. _It smells like roses._

It smelled like Ruby. Even though she hadn't slept in her bed last night, it was clear that her scent from the night before still lingered. While the cloth provided heat for her body, the scent offered a different kind of warmth that Weiss felt blossom at her chest.

So she silently sat there, watching Ruby wipe up the spilled soup with a towel. If not for the red cloak messing up Ruby's appearance as a maid, the scene would've very much resembled the ones that Weiss always saw at home: maids going about their chores while she focused on Schnee family matters or her own personal goals. However, Weiss was starting to understand that there were more differences in this occasion than just appearances.

"This shouldn't take long." Gathering up the towel and blanket in her arms, Ruby stood up and looked to Weiss. "I'll be back in a minute! Oh!" Something seemed to come to Ruby just as she was about to leave. Turning back to Weiss, Ruby did her best to place the blanket and towel under one arm to free a hand that she used to lift up her skirt before bending her knees in the form of a curtsey.

Weiss was stunned. "Oh…uh…yeah. I'll just be…here." Her face burned with how totally and utterly _lame_ that sounded. This was something that usually came from Ruby, not her!

Ruby didn't seem to mind. Instead, with a smile on her face and a quick "Be right back!", the red-cloaked girl left the room, leaving Weiss alone.

 _Alright,_ the heiress thought once it was only her in the dorm. _…Just what in the_ hell _is going on here?_

With a frustrated growl, Weiss fell back onto her bed, her head hitting hard against the pillow. She regretted it immediately when her vision started spinning from the violent maneuver. Ah, right, she was supposed to be sick.

 _There! Right there! Just what's gotten into me? When did I start turning into…into…_ that _? Ugh!_

By 'that', she meant Ruby. Burning her mouth with hot soup, spilling said soup onto herself, and just being utterly flabbergasted. That was not how Weiss Schnee was supposed to act. Such clumsiness was only supposed to be restricted to her partner! Maybe Weiss had been infected with more than just a flu because she had no other way to explain what was happening to her.

Well other than the fact that Ruby Rose was dressed in a _maid outfit_!

Weiss pressed her palm to her forehead, willing her spinning vision to stop. She managed to bring it under control and the heiress took a deep, calming breath.

The scent of roses filled her partially-clogged nostrils again. Weiss immediately froze her lungs 'less she wanted to infest herself with more of Ruby Rose.

_Speaking of which, doesn't that dolt realize that she could catch what I have? Why is she even spending so much time around me? I appreciate the soup but isn't the rest of it a bit much? Especially that outfit!_

The outfit had to be the one thing aggravating her the most because there was no sense behind it. Not only did it not make sense that Ruby was wearing it but it didn't make sense that it was affecting Weiss as it was. Why was the appearance of a maid Ruby throwing her off her game? There should be no difference between this maid Ruby and the other maids that populated her family's mansion.

The lack of oxygen was causing her lungs to burn. It wasn't doing her head any better either as she started to feel lightheaded. Seeing no choice, Weiss relented to her body's attempts to gain much-needed air and with it the smell of roses came rolling in.

No, there was a difference and Weiss knew it. As if being drawn out by the scent of roses, images of the recent events flooded her mind. Ruby taste testing the soup, Ruby holding the soup to her, Ruby's smile, Ruby wrapping her in her blanket, another smiling Ruby…

A maid didn't act like that. A maid only acted with the motivation of a proper salary of Lien. A maid only cared for you because an employer demanded that they do. A maid only wished to stay in your company if only to indulge in the furnishings of the noble house. A maid did not do it because…because…

_…Because I am her friend._

Weiss felt her heart swell with emotion at the revelation. It was an uncomfortable feeling, unfamiliar…but not unwanted. She tried to fight against it either way. This was nothing like the ache that had plagued her earlier when she had thought of loneliness. It was not painful – it was actually exhilarating - but it still felt like a weight that was making it difficult to breathe which did little to help her condition. Her hands rubbing against her chest as if that would relieve some of the pressure, Weiss rolled over onto her side and stayed that way as she attempted to loosen this knot. After a while she thought she finally succeeded.

"Hey Weiss, I'm back!"

Weiss groaned at the sound of the door opening and her partner's return. _Impeccable timing as always._

If Ruby heard her she didn't say anything about it. Actually, Weiss didn't hear anything from her at all except for her wandering around the room. That was fine with her as she didn't know what would happen if she turned around and saw Ruby in all of her maid glory. The subtle sound of tableware clinking together and a liquid being poured caused her stomach to sink. _Don't tell me…_

"The kitchen staff was off today so I had to make this myself," came Ruby's voice. "So I made sure to make some extra soup just in case! Not that I expected to need it but…uh…well…you know…"

_Yes, I spilled it. Thank you for reminding me._

"Anyway, I think enough time has passed so it shouldn't be too hot now." Ruby's voice – and footsteps – came closer to Weiss's bed. "Hey Weiss, you awake?"

Weiss felt a gentle nudge at her shoulder. Her immediate reaction was to do what she should've done to avoid this entire situation: ignore Ruby until she went away. Considering what occurred when she didn't follow that plan, it was very ill-advised to make the same mistake twice.

And yet she found herself making it when she rolled back over to face Ruby. She didn't know why she did it, the movement coming as a surprise to her, but when she thought about it she found that the idea of ignoring her _friend_ when all she was doing was trying to help bothered her. Besides, she was still hungry so she could really use some of that soup.

She had to admit, the sight she saw wasn't so bad either. With her sudden roll, Ruby had moved her head back, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. This close, Weiss got another good look at that white band that stood out on top of her partner's head. Between that, the red bow at her collar, and the frills at the shoulders of her apron framing her face, the word cute passed through Weiss's mind for the second time to describe Ruby.

"I'm awake." Pushing herself up, Weiss returned to her seated position.

The surprise on Ruby's face gave way to a smile. "For a second I didn't think you were. Um, I got more soup so…" She tentatively held out a refilled bowl towards Weiss.

Weiss glanced over Ruby's shoulder, spotting the desk and the large, closed pot that she had missed before on top of it. Ruby really did come prepared. She looked back at her partner to see that she still held out the bowl in outstretched arms. Sighing, Weiss finally took possession of the bowl – the soup it held was still warm, surprisingly enough – and set it on her lap.

She didn't eat it just yet. "Ruby?"

The young girl was still standing at the side of her bed even after she had been relieved of the soup, possibly to keep watch for another spill. At hearing her name, Ruby tilted her head to look at Weiss curiously. "Yes?"

"Are you…sure about being here? You know you could get sick."

"No worries!" A confident grin on her face, Ruby waved away the concern before proudly pounding her fist against her chest. "I should be fine! If I keep my Aura levels up I should be able to fend off any infection! Well, at least that's what Pyrrha said should happen anyway."

Weiss restrained the urge to smack her palm against her forehead if only because it would result in another headache. " _Should_?"

This definitely sounded more like the Ruby she knew: going with a plan because it _may_ work and shrugging off the chances of it not working. This would then leave her without any kind of backup plan for them to fall back on in case they hit any snags. It was the Nevermore Disaster all over again: ride the giant Grimm bird to locate their objective without any kind of plan on how they were supposed to get off and land safely.

"I'll be fiiine," Ruby assured. Her grin slowly morphed into a smaller, more sober smile. "Besides, I have to be the best team leader I can be, right? And what kind of leader would I be if I didn't help my best teammate?"

The knot that Weiss had been trying so hard to loosen retightened. Her heart was now beating heavily as if it was attempting to push on through and keep her vital functions going despite this swell of emotion that was pressing in all around it. Weiss felt her body start to slowly sway, making her fear that the soup was about to spill again. She didn't have to worry as not only did she feel someone grab the bowl at her lap but there was also a small, gentle grip on her shoulder to steady her.

"Weiss, are you okay?"

Whether it was due to this latest moment of bodily weakness or Ruby's strange maid power – or both -, Weiss came to a decision. When she looked back at Ruby's face, full of concern and worry for her friend that she was supporting, the heiress resolutely decided, _Okay, that's it. You know what? I'm just going to go with this. I have a flu, she has a maid outfit, so when this is all over we can both just plea to temporary insanity as we clearly have enough evidence to make it stick._

Besides, this matched with another Schnee doctrine: take advantage of any opportunity that should arise and use it to the fullest.

 _And I am totally going to make the most of this._ Her resolve gave her strength, enough to regain control of her body to stop it from swaying. When she met Ruby's concerned gaze, Weiss now had a strengthened body and mind. She was going to need it with what she planned.

"I'm okay." Weiss scooched back until she felt her back press against the headboard of her bed to better lean against it for support. "But it seems like I'm not _that_ okay. I don't think I'll even be able to feed myself without help if I don't want to accidentally spill some soup again." She felt her face start to grow warm at this rather bold tactic of hers but managed to keep it straight.

Ruby just stared at her in reply. Her mouth half-open, her silver eyes wide and confused, Ruby just stood there with the bowl in her hands. Then, with a small, cute tilt of her head, she meekly squeaked, "Huh?"

 _Stop trying to distract me with cute!_ Frustrated that her team leader didn't get the obvious hint – like she _always_ does -, Weiss pointed back to one of the desks. "Grab a chair and feed me!"

This time it was Ruby who almost spilled the soup with how quickly she jumped at the heiress's loud command. "Um-uh-right! Yes! On it!" She placed the bowl on the table before zooming across the dorm room to grab a chair from the desk. It proved fortunate to relinquish control of the soup because the younger girl nearly tripped on her skirt again, causing her to stumble yet managing to keep herself from falling this time.

The heat generating from Weiss's face had grown further at her outburst, making her attempt to will her body to cool itself before Ruby returned. She tried to better her appearance as well, her hands gliding through her frazzled hair to smooth it down before folding them onto her lap. With her back straightening and head held high, Weiss attempted to form the proper, composed image of a Schnee.

Dragging the chair behind her, Ruby nearly slammed it into place at Weiss's bedside upon her return in her urgency to not waste a second of time. She almost did the same with her own body as she all but fell onto the seat. Then, once she had retrieved the soup, she quickly took a spoonful and held it out to Weiss.

The heiress's eyes were closed to effectively create her cool image. Upon registering the spoon before her lips, Weiss opened one eye to carefully regard the utensil before she leaned forward and took it in her mouth.

Ruby, thankfully, had been right about the soup. Although there was still a bit of heat to it, there was not enough for it to burn her mouth like before. In fact, now that she was able to calmly eat, Weiss could properly taste the soup. She easily detected the chicken and vegetable broths that had been used in its creation but, this time, she took note that mixed with the salt, the pepper, oregano, and basil was some other spice that she couldn't identify. It offered an extra, spicy kick that wasn't overpowering but more than made up for any of the heat that the soup had lost while it had been sitting at the desk. Enough so, after a few more spoonfuls, Weiss started to feel her nasal passages start to clear.

"You said you made it yourself?" Weiss questioned after the devouring the contents of the fifth spoon, her one eye focused and quirked in Ruby's direction, accentuating the scar that trailed down it.

Ruby vigorously nodded her head, afraid of responding too slowly to anything that Weiss may say to her. "Yes! I mean it's just normal chicken soup but I did add a couple things that my dad had used when I had been sick." Her expression turned hopeful. "Is it alright?"

Weiss mentally counted to three, letting enough time pass for Ruby to begin to look uncomfortable before the heiress allowed her head to make a small nod. "It's good. Better than I expected in fact."

Ruby positively beamed at the compliment, forcing Weiss to shift her gaze somewhere else.

It continued just like that: Ruby holding out a spoon full of soup which Weiss ate. She then refilled it and the process repeated until the bowl was completely empty. By the end, the hunger that Weiss hadn't realized she possessed had been satisfied while the spices and broths eased her throat, cleared her head and nose, and efficiently warmed her usually chilled body.

"Would you like me to get you more?" Ruby questioned, dropping the empty spoon into an equally empty bowl.

Weiss shook her head while maintaining her composed, straight-back position. "No, that was enough thank you. I could use some water though."

"Right!"

With Ruby's focus now directed on the pitcher, Weiss focused on her. She got another clear view of Ruby's red cloak and that in itself bred some more ideas for the heiress on how to make the best of this situation. Again that heat started drifting back to her face as she thought of how increasingly forward she was becoming with her partner.

 _Why shouldn't I be? This is Ruby's fault after all._ Instead of letting Ruby do it when she presented the glass of water, Weiss took it and drank it herself in hopes that the cool water would do something about her face. _If she's so determined to help me then who am I to stop her? Especially if she insists on wearing that outfit._

The thought gave her more confidence in her course of action. Once she had completely drained the glass, she handed it back to Ruby. She waited until her partner set it aside before she struck. "Ruby, we need to talk about your uniform."

It was Ruby's turn to become flustered with attention being brought back to her outfit. Bowing her head, she started playing with her apron like before. "Yeah, I know. Blake thought it would help but this is all rather silly, isn't it?"

"Take off your cloak."

Ruby's head shot right back up. "What?"

The look of surprise on Ruby's face nearly caused Weiss to falter. Nonetheless, she stood firm with the heiress crossing her arms over her chest. It was meant to enhance a more steadfast image…as well as maybe help suppress the heart she felt quicken beneath her breast. "If you wish to truly serve a member of the Schnee dynasty then you must dress appropriately. While I applaud your efforts to obtain an adequate uniform, your cloak is the only flaw. Remove it."

Ruby had unconsciously touched at the red fabric of her cloak and Weiss barely managed to hold back a grimace. She didn't know the story behind that bit of cloth but considering that the only time she had ever seen her leader without it was when she was sleeping, she had to assume that it held some importance to her. Seeing how uncertain she looked, the heiress soon had second thoughts and was about to tell Ruby to forget about it.

Well, that was until Ruby obeyed. With a sudden, determined set of her shoulders, the girl reached up, unclasped her cloak, removed it from her shoulders, and carefully folded it before setting it aside.

Weiss felt the pacing of her heartbeat increase even further when her partner straightened in her seat, now without her cloak. _Okay…okay good._ She nodded to herself, not only to show Ruby her approval but also to use the movement to reassure herself that this was all going to plan. Without her cloak, Ruby now perfectly fit the part of a maid. There was still that red bow and the red streaks of her hair yet those slight discrepancies seemed to enhance her adorable appearance rather than retract from it.

Trying to control her heart for what was to come next, Weiss pressed on. "Good. Now we need to correct one last thing."

At that, a small pout appeared on Ruby's face.

 _No!_ Weiss felt another bout of weakness threaten to take over in the presence of that pout. _No, don't do that! How can I possibly hold out against that?_

It was getting hard to even sit straight. Attempting to gain more support and put a stop to that pout, Weiss leaned over and placed her hands heavily upon Ruby's shoulders. The maneuver worked although that familiar look of concern that appeared on Ruby's face was almost as bad.

"Now, Ruby," Weiss continued slowly, her grip tightening on her shoulders. She then powered on through. "I want you to call me master."

Ruby's head jerked back, blushing heavily. "Uuuuuh…wait." She seemed to think about what Weiss just said then timidly asked, "Wouldn't it be my lady?"

 _You're seriously going to make me ask_ again _?_ Her heart now battering around within her rib cage, Weiss's grip on Ruby tightened further. Ignoring the brief wince on her partner's face, Weiss leaned forward, her eyes wide with desperation, and snapped, "Just say it!"

The tight grip on her shoulders and the crazed look in Weiss's eyes forced Ruby to obey without a second thought. "Y-y-yes master!"

Deep inside, Weiss felt her heart leap and jump with joy upon hearing the words.

Then it came crashing back down.

Weiss only had a second to become very aware that her heart had stalled before that weakness she felt earlier came rushing in, robbing her of consciousness.


	3. The Other Foot

She couldn't have been out long; a few seconds, a minute at most. Nonetheless, in that short amount of time, Weiss found that her position had changed substantially.

She was lying on her back and for a fleeting moment she thought that she was still in her bed, especially with what she assumed was her pillow supporting her head. The theory was proven wrong as soon as she thought it when her pillow moved. The movement also allowed her to recognize that it was not the comfortable, yielding support of her mattress beneath the rest of her body. Rather, it was a cold, hard floor.

Then there was an odd, beeping noise coming from right above her head. That and how the noise annoyed a renewed headache finally got Weiss to open her eyes.

Her vision was blurred, forcing her to close her eyes before opening them again in an attempt to refocus her vision. She did it enough to the point that she could make out a transparent, rectangular screen being held no more than a foot directly above her. Even with her position, after a couple more blinks Weiss could see small images – icons – on the screen that were made to look like folders, envelopes, a magnifying glass, and other such things. Right in the middle of the screen blazed two words and Weiss had to maneuver her head enough to tilt them at an angle to read it as _Nurse's Office_.

Due to the transparency of the screen, Weiss was able to see one pale index finger that was tapping against it, hitting icons with each press emitting another _beep_ from the screen. As soon as Weiss had moved her head, however, the finger suddenly froze just as it was about to hit another, smaller word: _Call._

"Weiss!"

The dull, painful pounding coming from within her skull became increasingly harder with her efforts but Weiss focused her gaze beyond the screen and hovering finger. At the end, she could see a familiar pair of silver eyes that, while partially blocked by the icons and words on the screen, were clearly focusing on her.

Ruby fixed that by closing the electronic scroll, shrinking it back to a more compact form which she set aside.

 _Oh yeah…_ If it wasn't for the fact that her head was hurting, Weiss was ready to believe that she had passed away and gone on to a higher plane of existence for clearly that was the only way to explain the apron-wearing angel and her frilly, white halo. "Too cute."

Weiss was barely aware that she spoke the words in such a soft voice but the reaction was worth it. Her head having leaned down to get a better – although upside down - look at the now awake Weiss, Ruby had just managed to catch the words. When she did, the younger girl immediately jerked her head back, face now flushed.

The heiress didn't seem to realize what she had done and didn't seem to care, instead looking to take in her surroundings while her red-faced partner sat in silence. She was indeed lying on the floor of the dorm, leading her to assume that, upon blacking out, she had fallen from her bed. A knocked over chair told her that Ruby had acted accordingly, her team leader having pushed her seat aside so that she could catch her.

And here she was. Now Weiss could see that it definitely wasn't a pillow that her head was resting on. No, that would be Ruby's lap. The revelation did nothing to unnerve her. In fact, Weiss found herself reflexively nuzzling her head against her team leader's lap as if it was her pillow.

Ruby, on the other hand, found herself becoming increasingly flustered by her partner's actions. Actually, ever since she returned from dropping off the soup-soaked blanket she had been nothing but thrown off by Weiss and her actions. "Uh, Weiss?"

"Mmmm?" Weiss mumbled. Bereft of her blanket, Weiss idly touched and tugged on the skirt of Ruby's long dress and the apron that was tied over it as if she was trying to pull them around her.

This caused Ruby to constantly to fidget. "Um…are you okay? I mean I was pretty sure I caught you when you fell but…uh…I'm starting to think you may have…mmm…hit your head?"

With Ruby's fidgeting, Weiss had to constantly move her head in reply to maintain a comfortable spot on her lap. Becoming increasingly annoyed, the heiress actually moved her hands to grip the folds of Ruby's outfit at her legs in an attempt to keep them pinned. That caused Ruby to become very still which Weiss declared was an accomplishment.

"Mmmm…" Weiss mumbled again, pressing her cheek against the frills of the apron as she attempted to bury her face into them. Her thoughts were starting to become hazy but one thing was abundantly clear to her: Ruby's legs were comfortable. "It's alright…temporary insanity..."

"O…kay." Already concerned with her partner's behavior, Ruby started to take note of an unusually large amount of color that was presenting itself on her usually near-white face. Slipping a hand beneath her bangs, Ruby pressed her palm against Weiss's forehead. A startling amount of heat was there to greet it. "Weiss, your fever's acting up!"

The heiress seemed to barely be paying attention. With another incoherent mumble, Weiss welcomed the cool palm that touched her hot forehead. When Ruby pulled her hand away, a small whine emitted from her throat.

"Hold on Weiss, I have something. Let me just…" Ruby attempted to get up but immediately ran into a problem with Weiss clutching her legs in response to keep them in place. "Uh, Weiss could you let go for a moment?"

Another mumble, this time clearly made to sound negative as Weiss kept her head pressed against her lap. Ruby attempted to slip them out from beneath her but quickly realized that that was going to be harder than she planned: Weiss practically had a death grip on her skirt and legs.

"Uh, Weiss? I need to get up. Come on, Weiss. Weiss? Um…please let me up? I just need to go right over there and-"

She again tried to free her legs and found that Weiss had not loosened her grip one bit.

"I have something to help," Ruby continued despite how obvious it was that Weiss was ignoring her pleas. "I just need to move just…a little…bit… Oh. come on, Weiss!" A sigh. "Alright, guess I have no choice."

There came a crescendo of whirring gizmos and the cocking of a weapon that, even in her feverish state, Weiss could recognize as one thing. Turning her head just enough so that one eye wasn't obstructed by frills, the older girl could see that Ruby had unveiled her precious Crescent Rose. Where she had managed to hide it this whole time Weiss didn't know – the pounding of her head told her not to worry about it – but Ruby was using it to reach for something, stretching her body and arms as far as she could go so that her giant scythe could grab…whatever it was she was trying to grab.

Although Weiss continued to keep a tight grip so that Ruby wouldn't slip away, the heiress found her one eye drifting towards Ruby's face. With how her partner was turned, Weiss got a clear view of the side of her face; specifically the right side of her face.

It was something she had always noticed but for some reason it only now fascinated her. Possibly due to her dulled mental state, Weiss found herself tracking a long bundle of hair that fell from Ruby's face.

"Come oooon," Ruby groaned, too intent on her task at hand to take note that she was being stared at. Straining her arms, the girl leaned as far as she could. "Just one…more…inch… Ah! No! Don't bump it!"

Her actions were causing her hair to swish back and forth, further hypnotizing Weiss. The hair at the right side of her face was longer than her left. At her left, the longest strands only went down to her cheek. To her right, the length of black and red stretched past her chin. During their time together, Weiss had secretly made comparisons of Ruby's hairstyle to her own as she tended to affix her ponytail to her right side to keep it off-centered. For Weiss, she had adopted her hairstyle as a small act of rebellion. She wondered if Ruby had any meaning behind her hair as she did with her cloak.

Overcome by a sudden urge, Weiss removed a hand from Ruby's skirt and reached up.

"Aha! Got it!" Smiling in victory, Ruby pulled back her scythe with her prize carefully balanced on the flat blade. After carefully placing it on the floor within easy reach, it was only then that Ruby allowed Crescent Rose to return to its compact form; the blade and shaft folding and shrinking into a blocky, harmless appearance. Similarly placing it off to the side, Ruby focused on her original target and dragged it towards her.

That was when she felt Weiss grab onto her hair. With her index and middle finger, Weiss curled the red and black strands between and around her two fingers to effectively capture them.

Ruby froze as, really, that was the only thing she could do to react to the touch. With no resistance, Weiss just held the lock of hair between her fingers while her thumb rubbed along it. Well, that was until Ruby finally turned to look down at her.

She found a very delirious-looking Weiss Schnee. Her ice blue eyes were half-closed and unfocused, her face burning up with fever and yet there was a small smile on her face as she continued to play with Ruby's hair. The state of her teammate got Ruby to act.

She quickly pulled the bowl she managed to obtain towards her and dipped her hands in it. Unlike the soup bowl, this one just held pure, crystal clear water with a small towel soaking in it. Ruby pulled the towel out and held it over the bowl as she twisted it, wringing out any excess water before folding it. After brushing Weiss's bangs off to the side, Ruby placed the towel on her forehead.

The heiress had dropped her hand from Ruby's hair at that point, her arm limply falling back to her side. By the time the towel touched her forehead, her eyes had fully closed with the only sign that proved that she was still alive to the world was her breathing which morphed into a contented sigh as the cool towel rested on her forehead. Turning her head to rest her cheek against Ruby's thigh, Weiss laid still.

 _And she says I'm insufferable,_ Ruby thought with a humored grin. When she had decided that she would take care of Weiss until she got better, she certainly hadn't been expecting this.

Although it would probably be best to get Weiss into her bed, how peaceful the heiress looked while she slept convinced Ruby otherwise. So she just reached up and pulled the blanket from Weiss's bed to tuck it snuggly around her. Her partner didn't even stir.

This was where Ruby found herself for the next hour. Unwilling to move in case she disturbed Weiss from her much-needed sleep, Ruby was forced to remain on her knees, the head of the heiress resting comfortably on her lap while she slept. The only thing that Ruby did dare to perform was to remove the towel from Weiss in order to soak it in the bowl of cool water and place it back on her head.

That, however, left Ruby with very little else to do. She planned for contingencies if Weiss was to fall asleep in her care such as homework but all her books and notes were at the far corner of the dorm and she didn't dare use Crescent Rose to try and retrieve them. Other than that she probably couldn't reach, she doubted that her school supplies would be able to handle even being touched by the super sharp blade of her scythe.

Anything else she had planned she couldn't do due to her situation so she remained where she was. While she would usually find this predicament to be more frustrating – and she could only wonder how stiff her legs were going to be at the end of this -, upon peering down at Weiss, Ruby felt herself calmed.

 _Who thought the Ice Princess could be so clingy._ As if to prove her thought, Weiss nuzzled her cheek against her lap, one hand grasping Ruby's apron. A smile formed on the younger girl's face at the sight while she made sure the towel didn't slip off her partner's head. _Cute._

They had come a long way from their first meeting and Ruby had treasured their growing friendship. Not just with Weiss either but Blake and even the members of Team JNPR.

 _I guess this would make this…what?_ Ruby asked herself as she did some mental math. _Plus six friends? A six hundred percent increase! And so far I've made no enemies!_ Though as Yang had joked during that night, Weiss could certainly be labeled as an enemy and Ruby had reluctantly agreed to the assessment.

That had been a rough beginning for the young leader. As much of a dream as it was for Ruby to attend Beacon, doing so two years early without her friends had sent her reeling. She had been momentarily comforted that Yang would be with her but the funny thing about that was that her older sister _had_ come to Beacon with her friends, causing her to pretty much ditch Ruby as soon as they landed so that she could hang out with them. At that point, Ruby had truly been afraid: afraid that Yang wouldn't be there for her, that she would be alone, and that she would be forced to work with strangers who would treat her differently because she had been bumped ahead two years.

She felt a little better after that first day with her meeting with Jaune and a slow, tentative relationship being formed between her and Blake. Weiss. on the other hand…

 _I would just jump in fright whenever she came around,_ Ruby remembered. _I would have definitely not seen this coming._

Examining the sleeping girl's face, Ruby was relieved to see that the red coloring was finally giving way to the normal paleness that Weiss was known for. When she had collapsed from her bed with Ruby barely reacting in time to cushion her fall, the younger girl had thought to call the nurse for Weiss to get her better treatment, thinking she had been over her head with doing this herself. Fortunately, Weiss had awakened a minute later just as she was about to contact the office, putting her at ease.

"Hm…" It was probably boredom and a growing desire to do something that caused Ruby's hands to come unbidden to the face of the heiress. First removing the towel from her forehead, Ruby placed her palm to check her fever. Weiss had definitely cooled down which relieved her.

Instead of removing her hand, Ruby allowed her fingers to explore. First brushing and curling the white bangs around her fingers similar to what Weiss had done to her own, Ruby found her thumb rubbing along the pale, smooth skin of Weiss's cheek. This path inevitably led her to that scar.

It was the only thing that marred the noble, perfect features of the heiress. Ruby never considered it to be ugly though, nor had she possessed any negative thoughts about it. If anything, the scar gave Weiss a certain fierceness; a hint to the fighting spirit that dwelled within her otherwise prim appearance. It let people know that standing before them was not a spoiled rich girl who had been born with everything she desired. If one doubted the resolve of Weiss Schnee, they only had to become the victim of one of her signature scarred glares to see that there was the burning spirit of a Huntress ready to be unleashed upon Remnant.

Her thumb trailing along the scar tissue that ran down that left eye, Ruby wondered how Weiss received it. A training accident? A battle that had not been willing to leave her unscathed? Or maybe something that wasn't so noble or exciting such as a simple household accident?

Ruby had never asked. One day she may do so or maybe Weiss would beat her to the punch and just let it slip during a day of girl talk. Until then, Ruby was willing to let that secret remain as such. After all, Weiss wasn't the only one who still held mysteries about her past.

Ruby spent the passing minutes continuing to let her fingers stroke along her partner's hair and face. To her delight, the unconscious Weiss would utter another pleased mumble or sigh which was usually accompanied by efforts to further cuddle up against Ruby's lap. Unsurprisingly, the touches eventually woke her up, the heiress opening her eyes to gaze up at Ruby.

Neither of them said a word as the seconds ticked by, both of them content to just look upon one another. Ruby ended up breaking the silence, her lips forming a smile before she gently greeted, "Hey, Weiss."

"Hey, Ruby." Not only did Weiss sound groggy, but her slow movements appeared that way as she fought against the remnants of sleep. Her eyes moved away from her partner and worked on trying to give her an update on her surroundings. "How long was I out?"

"Not long." With Weiss having reawakened, Ruby finally reined in her wandering hands so as not to make this uncomfortable for the both of them.

It only seemed to work for her though. As for Weiss, the heiress soon took note of her own position: her head resting comfortably against Ruby's lap with her hands loose yet still gripping the skirt and apron of the maid outfit. Ruby couldn't see her face for a reaction but how Weiss had frozen and purposely kept her face looking away from her team leader told her enough.

Apparently she was looking in the direction of the clock because Weiss spoke, with a bit of disbelief, "I've been sleeping for nearly two hours!" An understanding of the situation soon clicked and although Weiss started to turn she stopped her head at the last fraction. She didn't halt her voice. "And you've been…here."

Ruby grinned because of the observation and how she spotted the pink that tinged the heiress's cheeks. She entertained the thought of making a comment about how her legs certainly felt like she's been here for that long but she instead went with, "Want me to help you back to your bed?"

The heiress was silent for quite some time, seeming to be thinking about the offer. Then, hesitantly, she finally replied, "…No." She slowly dropped her cheek back onto Ruby's lap. "Just…five more minutes. I don't think I'm fully awake yet."

 _Temporary insanity,_ Ruby translated. _Right._

Or maybe something else. Maybe, instead of insanity, Weiss was seeing this as a dream that she had yet to wake from. The weight of her head on top of her legs and her words made Ruby think that the heiress wouldn't mind indulging in this dream for a little while longer.

Well, she was willing to do the same. Ruby had one hand creep down her thigh, towards the snow-white mane that it had been inches away from but now closed the distance so that her fingers could once again stroke along those locks. Weiss didn't move or offer any kind of word of protest, leaving them to stay like that for the designated five minutes and, perhaps, a couple more added onto that. Neither was keeping count nor did they seem to care.

Eventually, Ruby felt the shifting of her partner, forcing her to look down just in time to see an upside-down Weiss staring up at her. Any blush that had been previously on her face was no more. There was, however, a friendly smile.

"You know," Weiss began, "I suppose I can admit that you're turning out to be a good leader."

A wide smile sprouted on Ruby's face in reply. "From my best teammate, I suppose I can take that as a compliment."

The two giggled at that with Weiss, ever the proper one, placing a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide her mirth. When she dropped her hand though, the smile was gone, her lips having been forced into a hard line. Tilting her head up to look indignant – which was a lost cause when being viewed upside down – Weiss spoke, "But you still have some work to do. Let's see if you can truly prove that you have what it takes to possess the honor of having a Schnee following you. You may help me to my bed now."

Ah, that was the Weiss she knew. The dream now over, Ruby replied cheekily with, "Good because my legs are absolutely _killing_ me." She paused. "Um, I don't actually have to call you master do I?"

That instantly broke that icy exterior that Weiss had been attempting. "Oh, uh…no…no you don't have to do that." She didn't add that she probably wouldn't be able to survive if Ruby called her master for the rest of the day.

* * *

Walking through the hall that would lead to the dorm rooms, Yang raised her arms high above her head in a stretch, causing the white shirt to slide up just enough to expose a hint of her toned midriff. The breeze she felt at the action had Yang looking down, reminding her of her odd attire.

 _Never thought Blake would have something like this in her wardrobe_ , Yang wondered curiously. Just as she had done when she had first put on the outfit, she tugged on the sleeves and hem of the shirt, testing the material. _But this couldn't be hers. I'm definitely taller than her. Besides…_

She flexed her shoulders and jutted out her chest - much more developed then Blake's - in an effort to test how far she could stretch it. Although there was no way she could possibly expect a change from when she slipped it on, Yang was nonetheless surprised at the results: it was a perfect fit.

To be fair, the blonde wouldn't be so astonished if it was just the shirt that fitted perfectly but the addition of the bloomers that hugged her thighs had made her suspicious.

 _And I really don't think Blake would want to be seen in something like this. She just pulled it out of her bag though as soon as I mentioned needing some clothes for a run._ Yang again tugged on one sleeve thoughtfully. _Seems like some kind of gym uniform. Could this have been from a school she previously attended?_

Always one for the eccentrics, Yang had been long-used to the kind of stares that she had received from passing students – and professors – during her run. Legs exposed to the maximum, sweat causing the already close-fitting shirt to cling to her curvaceous form - it forced Yang to amend her earlier statement: Blake wouldn't be caught _dead_ in something like this.

The only thing that Yang could think of was that the clothing had been specifically picked for her. She looked down at her outfit again. _Could she…naaah._

Although there _was_ a lot about her partner that she didn't know. Even with their team-up, there were very few things that Yang could say that she knew about Blake. She knew that she liked books, liked the color black, _really_ liked wearing that bow and…

Yang scratched her head sheepishly as nothing else came to her. The lack of knowledge about her own teammate did make her feel a little bad. However, that same category which she lacked in gave plenty of room for the chance of a surprise hobby or other interest that may be uncovered.

 _And you know what they say: always the quiet ones._ She bopped herself on the head. _Eh, why am I even wasting time thinking about it? I should just go ahead and ask her._ A mischievous grin suddenly appeared. _I certainly don't mind surprises after all._

Yang took the appearance of the door to Team JNPR's dorm as a sign that supported her course of action. That settled it then: if Blake happened to still be in the dorm, reading one of her books, Yang would just walk over, rip the book from her hands, and just press and press and press until she got a suitable answer. It would be fun. It would also give her a chance to kill more time which depended solely on how long Blake's patience could hold out against her persistence.

Psyching herself up for such a match, Yang almost missed the noises that were coming from the dorm right across the hall. It was only when her hand touched the door did her head jerk and then swivel to locate the noise until her lilac eyes focused on the entrance to her team's dorm.

 _What the…?_ Considering they had been leaving Weiss alone, there had been virtually no noise coming from their dorm ever since she got sick. Her hand dropping from JNPR's door, Yang now reached for Team RWBY's. Just as she was about to touch the knob, her hand stopped an inch away from it.

Weiss couldn't have gotten better yet. During the morning the nurse had stopped by and informed the two teams that she was still sick and there was no possible way that the heiress had gotten better in the few hours that passed since then. The thought immediately bred a small ball of fear at the pit of Yang's belly.

Yang didn't like getting sick. She was no germaphobe but the idea of getting sick was one of the few things that she could admit unnerved her. That whole ritual of lying around in bed and being miserable while your body betrayed you was not something that Yang Xiao Long did. She had a bad stomach virus one time when she had been young and the experience had been traumatizing.

Yang was all about action. Since she was born she was nothing but a bundle of boundless energy that couldn't be tamed. When her parents would ground her, she would just sneak out and do better to not get caught. When she obtained her motorcycle she had loved joyriding at speeds that went far beyond the limits that had been posted on the various signs around her neighborhood. And she _loved_ fighting. That beautiful art of deadly speed and power that was further enhanced by her soul's energy – her Aura – to allow her to fully indulge herself in the most basic form of combat: hand-to-hand. Nothing got that raging inferno that dwelled deep within her heart burning more than testing her mettle against an opponent that could match her in a powerful display of motion of well-executed punches and kicks.

But sickness was something she couldn't beat with her fists. She couldn't sneak out of the hold of a cold or some other virus. Even more distressing, to get sick was to be _limited_. To be constrained to bed, weakness and pain wracking your body as you cough and sneeze and vomit.

 _Clammy skin, bloodshot eyes…frazzled hair._ Yang hugged herself as a shudder coursed through her body. No, she didn't like getting sick at all. She prized her body's beauty as much as its strength and being unable to combat a danger that could rob her of both was unnerving. If someone plucked a string of her hair, she plucked off their head. The same could not be done to a formless flu.

But even with that fear, her curiosity had potential to match it. When Yang held an ear cautiously to the door, she thought she heard her baby sister's voice coming from behind it. That was enough.

Taking a deep breath, Yang straightened, slapping her hands against her face before forcing her shoulders to be held high. _In and out. Be quick and don't go anywhere near Weiss. Don't stay any longer than you have to._

Bolstered by this challenge to settle her curiosity, Yang's hand shot forward, grasping the door knob, turning it, and violently throwing the door open to behold…

_...What?_

"Ruby!" Weiss called from her bed, one hand holding up a teacup. She shook it to show that it was empty.

As if manifested purely by the heiress's call, Ruby was at her bedside with a teapot held in her hands a moment later. Bowing her head in a clear sign of servitude, the leader of Team RWBY tipped the teapot to refill the cup, stopping only when Weiss signaled her to.

"It's time to take your medicine," Ruby informed, placing the teapot on a small table to the side and catching a look at the clock. She produced a small bottle from a pocket in her apron.

Weiss sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. I'll just take it with my tea then." Holding out her empty hand, the heiress waited until Ruby had shaken out a couple pills that landed in her palm. "Thank you. Now, how about my laundry?"

"Should be done soon! I'll just go and check while you take your pills and-oh."

Having turned to leave and check the status of her partner's clothing, it was only then that Ruby noticed Yang standing at the doorway, arms held limply at her sides while she stared, wide-eyed, with her jaw trying very hard to reach down to touch the floor.

 _…What?_ Yang asked herself again as her eyes trailed up and down her younger sister. No, she wasn't seeing things: Ruby was wearing a maid outfit.

Ruby, having frozen in mid-step with her left foot hanging in the air, slowly placed her foot back down but otherwise made no move. Weiss just remained sitting in her bed, taking a sip of her tea before looking to the intruder with an annoyed quirk of her eyebrow.

Lilac eyes quickly moved from one girl to the other while a weakened jaw attempted to form words but, in the end, remained hanging. Yang's mind similarly had trouble, suddenly finding itself attempting to explain why two plus one equaled five while other numbers could now be divided by zero.

In the end though, there was only one thing she could possibly do to suitably react to such a situation.

Unfortunately, Weiss was faster. The snow-haired girl glanced towards her maid. "Ruby."

_Snap!_

Yang blinked as she found herself staring at the camera lens that was embedded in the scroll that Ruby held in her direction.

That helped her get over her shock. Cursing, Yang immediately dropped a hand to her pocket where she usually kept her scroll - and cursed again when she realized that those black bloomers didn't have pockets. As if detecting her distress, Ruby giggled and even Weiss allowed a smirk to appear.

"Dammit!" Yang looked across the hall, back to JNPR's dorm. "Blake!" She slammed the door shut.

"Ruby, lock the door please. The laundry can wait. If we're lucky, JNPR's room is locked and there's no one to let her in."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

In a display that wasn't fit for a proper Schnee at all, Weiss let her head drop to the cafeteria table with an audible _thunk_. "I'm the worst teammate ever."

Blake, sitting across from her, didn't respond right away. She waited to finish the page she was currently on before glancing down at the fallen heiress. "Yes, who knew that Ruby would get sick?"

It was Monday and, with it, the start of a brand new school week. Sadly, Team RWBY managed to hit a little snag when it came to their leader: such as the part where they were woken up by her in the midst of a coughing fit.

Yes, Ruby was sick. With the flu.

Ruby had been true to her word. In order to ease the suffering of a teammate, she had taken it upon herself as the leader of Team RWBY to care for her stricken partner not only for Saturday but Sunday as well when the flu continued to maintain its hold on Weiss for one more day. As one can figure out, it had cost her her health.

The knowledge that she was the cause was not sitting very well with Weiss.

"She said she would be fine!" Weiss insisted. Raising her head from the table, she directed her gaze to Blake, imploring her to give her some form of mercy to ease her guilt. "She said that as long as she kept her Aura levels up she would be fine!"

No mercy was to be found with Blake Belladonna. Turning to the next page of her novel, those pitiless amber orbs met blue. "She may have, though one does have to wonder how well they can maintain their Aura levels when they're being ordered around to make tea, dinner, do laundry, staying up late to help with homework, giving a sponge bath-"

She was interrupted by two palms slamming against the table.

"That last one didn't happen!" Weiss fiercely denied, now on her feet and glaring down at her raven-haired teammate.

Blake met her stare evenly, silently waiting for the heiress to notice what she already knew: a crowded cafeteria and the sudden, unusual silence that had just taken hold. It hit Weiss eventually, the girl looking to see the multitude of stunned faces that were now directed at her. Her face growing hot, she returned to her seat.

With Weiss properly subdued, Blake returned to her novel. She only got through a page and a half when the white-haired girl gathered her wits in an attempt to form another weak defense.

"I didn't push her that hard, did I?" Weiss questioned, once again beseeching Blake. "I let her go to bed at reasonable hours. She should've at least gotten her required eight hours!"

Blake did not even hesitate to shoot her down. "If she hadn't been busy doing her own homework at night. She _did_ have her own classes to worry about that she hadn't been sharing with you you know."

"But there couldn't have possibly been that much-"

"The coffee pot was empty this morning," Blake interrupted. "It wasn't when I went to bed last night."

A groan. _Thunk._ Weiss returned her head to the table.

Blake eyed the defeated heiress before she brought her book back up to her face to better hide how the corners of her lips twitched very briefly into a smile as a thought crossed her mind. _Not long now._

"I need to take notes for her," Weiss said aloud, using her hands to better pick herself up from the table. "I need to make sure to grab her homework assignments. She has classes that none of us have with her so I'll have to stop by them."

"It'll probably build up on her," Blake countered after another calm turn of the page. "You were lucky to get sick just as the weekend was coming. Tuesday, Wednesday, potentially Thursday if she doesn't recover as fast as you. Maybe even Friday."

"I'll help her with it! I'll even do some of it for her! At least for the classes we share!"

"I'm sure the professors will give her an extension considering the circumstances." Blake gave Weiss a moment to bask in that ray of hope. Then she took it away from her. "She'll need it after all. She's going to be utterly swamped with work by the time the weekend comes around. Not just homework but she'll have to study the notes, prepare for tests she may miss-"

Blake's listing was interrupted by a wail of despair as Weiss slumped in her seat, her hands pressing against the sides of her head which shook as if to deny the situation that she had inadvertently placed on her team leader.

Despite her merciless actions, seeing the heiress in her misery caused a pang to be felt within Blake's heart. Even though Weiss was the valued daughter of the Schnee family – the same family which she had struck out against -, Blake admitted to having developed a liking for the girl. She even counted Weiss as not only a teammate but one of her treasured friends who she cared deeply about and would defend with her life.

Just because the Schnee family's company delved in questionable business practices, Blake was not going to automatically damn their child for something that she could not control. If anything, she did believe that there was a connection between her and Weiss to make them kindred spirits in regard to how the world had dealt with them; both of them having become bound to an authority that had been placed on their lives and relinquishing control of their freedom to choose how they lived. Luckily for the both of them, they found a ray of hope within the halls of Beacon. A way to rebel against the established system and exert a margin of control over their lives while meeting such great friends.

Who knows, the experiences that they would share in Beacon could offer them a potential future that could benefit all of Remnant. In the case of Weiss, if she was to inherit the Schnee Dust Company, the heiress could possibly make the world a better place by going by her lessons of life and friendship that she learned here and using the vast influence of her company to assist the downtrodden rather than exploit them.

Until such a time though, the real world was just as cruel as Blake remembered it and she was playing by its rules which included kicking someone while they were down in order to get what you wanted.

"How am I possibly going to make this up to her?" Weiss asked, this time the question not directed at anyone in particular. "After all I did and made her do, what can I possibly do to make this right?"

"I have an idea."

Weiss looked to her tormentor, wary but hopeful, only to find that Blake had disappeared from her seat with her novel having been left on the table. "Blake-?"

Something wrapped around her chest.

"Bust," came Blake's voice, directly behind her.

"What the-?" Weiss shot up to her feet, looking over her shoulder to try and spot Blake.

That had been a mistake. As soon as she stood up, the thing – a certain, familiar black ribbon – took advantage of her standing form to unwind from her chest only to then come around her middle.

"Waist," Blake ticked off.

Weiss spotted Blake, her back bent so that she could peer down at the black ribbon of Gambol Shroud that was wound around her. She didn't understand what was going on or why Blake was doing it but knew that the logical response was to bring her elbow forward and then drive it back to slam it into her teammate.

She was too slow. For a moment it looked like she did hit Blake but as her elbow seemed to connect, Weiss found herself coming off balance as it only _continued_ to move back. Instead of striking Blake, what she hit instead was an afterimage of her that dispersed as soon as her elbow went through it.

 _Fast,_ Weiss couldn't help but marvel despite the situation. Speed was one of the many things that Weiss could say that she excelled at and was proud of. Unfortunately, between Ruby and Blake, it seemed that Team RWBY had a couple speedsters that could potentially match if not exceed her in that department.

It was with that speed that Blake delivered her last blow. When her strike hit the afterimage, Weiss realized that the _real_ Blake had crouched down. In this position, she struck with Gambol Shroud, the ribbon going in for the kill.

"Hips."

Anger rising, Weiss fully turned to bring Blake into view once she felt Gambol Shroud release its hold on her. Her mouth open to demand an explanation, Weiss looked down at Blake-

Just in time to see another afterimage vanish. Weiss whirled back around.

And there was Blake, having effectively returned to her seat to pick up her novel as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

The sight only worked to anger her further. Coupled with this sense of clearly violated privacy, Weiss dropped a hand to her hip, intending to have the grip of Myrtenaster fill her palm so that she may draw it and use it to extract answers from her sneaky teammate. Except it wasn't there. With a curse, Weiss found herself in a similar position to Yang upon realizing that Myrtenaster was still in her locker.

 _Why does Blake have Gambol Shroud? Had she been_ expecting _this?_ The possibility of Blake having _planned_ this all along was enough to make her shake with rage.

"Your measurements aren't that much different from Ruby's," Blake added, seemingly ignoring the volatile emotions that were about to explode in her direction. She hid her face behind her novel. "A few differences here and there but mostly minor."

Hands curled into fists and knuckles completely white, Weiss leaned forward enough so that the hard cover of the novel was only inches from her face. As tempted as she was to see if she could burn a hole through the tome and scorch its reader with sheer will, Weiss slowly raised her hands to tear the book in half and expose her treacherous teammate to the punishment that she deserved.

Blake held up a finger above her paper shield. "Before you do that, I would like to bring your attention back to my idea to help you make up with Ruby."

The only reason that Weiss listened was because she assured herself that she could just administer justice upon Blake once she had revealed her idea. There had been no way for her to realize just how put off she would become at the idea itself. Soon her anger was forgotten, the heiress reeling back away from Blake, her face red. Except this time the redness was due to embarrassment, not anger.

And despite how utterly _scandalous_ the idea was – especially for a Schnee -, Weiss found herself back in her seat, her head bowed and the pros and cons of going with this idea battling fiercely within her mind. At the end, when she finally looked up to Blake, she only had one question.

"Do you think we'll even find one in my size?"

She thought she saw a smile almost appear on Blake's face.

"I'm sure the staff have one stored somewhere."

* * *

_I, Ruby Rose, sincerely apologize for ever thinking that whistle was a good idea. When this is all over, I will personally slay that vile, silver abomination myself with Crescent Rose as if it was the lowliest Beowolf._

Being in the same situation that her partner had been in, Ruby could now understand that she had gotten off lightly with the pillow that Weiss had used to strike her. That had been too kind. If she had been aware of how much pain she had been in beforehand, she would've willingly handed over her scythe so that Weiss could properly give her the beating that she had deserved.

Another bout of coughing not only had Ruby shaking beneath the covers but caused her head to pound away. With her nose clogged and leaking, the fifteen-year-old was truly and utterly pitiful. Blindly searching for the box of tissues, Ruby almost cried with relief when she felt the soft paper at her fingers. Hurriedly tugging three sheets out of the box, Ruby held them up to her nose and blew hard in a vain attempt to clear her nostrils. What wasn't now covered in snot the girl used to wipe at the tears falling from her bloodshot eyes before depositing the used tissues into a small trash can – already half full – she had placed next to her on her bed. Her nose was red and stinging from the repeated blows and wiping.

Wrapping herself in her blanket, Ruby huddled against her mattress and prayed that she would lose consciousness soon. Sleep was proving elusive as the ailments that plagued her body constantly poked and prodded her with the latest discomforts that she had to deal with such as her nose. Though dressed in her usual sleepwear, Ruby had actually tossed aside her sleep mask. Having been such a faithful companion to her with its light-blocking capabilities, the Beowolf mask had absorbed so much sweat and tears that it had only become a hindrance that needed to be removed.

Oddly enough, not once since she became ill did Ruby blame Weiss for her predicament. Although it was difficult to do anything in her current situation, she had brief moments of clarity which allowed her to remember her past weekend. Of serving Weiss as if she were her maid, meeting her demands whatever they may be, and helping her catch up on school work. As degrading as it may seem to one who would stumble onto the scene, Ruby had to admit that it had been fun.

A weird word to use to describe the events but Ruby could find no other that was suitable. Even as she was acting as her servant, she had been spending time with Weiss which was something they hardly did. Usually the heiress preferred to keep social interactions between them at a minimum but during the last two days it had been all about them. Even with her large number of demands, Weiss seemed to have fun with it especially when it came to their study sessions. Ever the brilliant student, there were times when Weiss ended up being the one assisting Ruby with their work instead of the other way around but it had been, well, _fun_. It wasn't something they normally did all the time so it had been a pleasant change of pace.

It also brought them a little bit closer.

Another loud cough made Ruby think that maybe the experience had brought them a little too close. Her throat growing increasingly parched, the young leader once again had to break away from her mission to head off into dreamland to get some water. Instead of the table that had been set up for Weiss, Ruby actually had a short, standing tray placed onto her bed and over her body with the water and tissues resting on top. She snatched up her glass that she thought still had water in it…only to find out it didn't. With a frustrated growl, Ruby used her other hand to grab the pitcher for a refill…and found it empty as well.

She stared disbelievingly at the two, her heart sinking as she couldn't understand how the world could be so cruel. Her silver eyes welled up and Ruby felt an overwhelming urge to cry. Stubbornly holding back her tears, she slipped a hand under her pillow to search for her scroll that she could use to contact the nurse's office. It was her only chance as her teammates weren't here to help her now that the school week had started back up.

Whether it was because of her weakness debilitating her or, God forbid, it had actually fallen from her bed, Ruby didn't feel her lifeline. Two wet trails starting to form down her reddened cheeks, Ruby let out a quiet sob as she continued to search desperately for the scroll.

"Ruby, here."

The voice nearly caused her to jump from her bed. Her shock swiftly transformed into sheer delight as she felt a heavy, cool weight of a full glass of water being placed in her free hand. The identity of her mysterious savior a secondary concern, Ruby focused on her primary: gulping down that entire glass to soothe her throat. It was only when she accomplished in draining it did she look to see who she should give her thanks.

For her visit, Weiss had apparently brought a ladder which she had propped up against Ruby's bed in order to reach her leader without pulling herself up. It made it easy for her to hold onto a full pitcher of water which the fencer leaned over and replaced the empty one with before snatching up a sheet of tissue paper to collect her team leader's tears.

"How are you feeling?" the heiress asked, voice full of concern as she dried Ruby's cheeks. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

The tissue paper blocked her sight but just before it had done so, Ruby had gotten a brief look at her partner. Although she was sure that classes were still in session, Weiss was not wearing her school uniform. Rather, she seemed to be wearing her usual white combat clothes. Probably because she just came back from her combat classes. Or so Ruby thought.

It was the cap. What her blurry vision had thought was Weiss's hair pulled back and bundled up in its usual ponytail, she could clearly see that it was a white cap. To make room for it, her partner had untied her hair and allowed it to flow gracefully down her back.

Ruby thought Weiss was wearing her bolero jacket except buttoned instead of open. This was also wrong. What Weiss was wearing instead was a similarly white dress uniform buttoned up at the front. The sleeves reached out to her elbows while the skirt dropped down to her knees. It covered up just a bit more than her usual, thigh-length dress but Ruby's searching eyes forced Weiss to grip the bottom of her skirt as if to make sure it was pulled down all the way, clearly embarrassed. Ruby couldn't see her legs but she had to assume that Weiss – considering her reaction - had her legs bare with either a pair of sneakers or something that wasn't her mid-calf boots worn at her feet.

Because that was exactly what the nursing staff at Beacon wore with their uniforms.

…Weiss was wearing a nurse uniform. All that Ruby could do was stare, all her pain and misery momentarily forgotten.

"U-u-uh…" Weiss stuttered, her cheeks burning at the blank look that was directed at her. Forcing her hands to let go of her skirt, Weiss laced her fingers together and folded her hands over her thighs. Struggling to bring out the script that she mentally prepared, Weiss audibly swallowed. Then, with a quick, jerky bow of her head, she shakily spoke, "F-f-for the next few d-days, p-p-please allow y-your b-best teammate to assist you in your r-r-recovery." Another swallow. "Whenever you n-need me, I will be here to s-s-serve you to the best of m-my abilities between and a-after classes."

With a horrendously stiff back, Weiss straightened to reveal her red and sweating face. The corners of her mouth, which she had forced into an over exaggerated smile, were constantly twitching as they sought to express an emotion that was far, _far_ from happy. "I-is there anything I-I can do for y-you?"

Weiss wouldn't know it, not until later, but what she managed to do for Ruby was something that her team leader had constantly desired since the onset of her flu.

Dropping heavily onto her bed, Ruby passed out.


End file.
